by Helen Kain | May 16, 2017 | Castles & Stately Houses, England, Entertablement Abroad, Gardens and Flowers
It’s getting to be tulip time here at home, which brought to mind the gorgeous display we saw at Montacute House on one of our visits to England. While red and yellow tulips are not my favourite combination, they are stunning here. The colour is just...
by Helen Kain | Apr 23, 2017 | Blue, Gardens and Flowers, Green, Spring Tablescapes, White, Yellow
Pansies. I love pansies, particularly the yummy pastel-sorbet-coloured ones. A friend of mine had pots of them as centrepieces at her May wedding many years ago I’ve been smitten ever since. I bought a flat of them last week and left them overnight at the...
by Helen Kain | Apr 16, 2015 | Beautiful Towns, Entertablement Abroad, France, Gardens and Flowers
The following day we set out for Sarlat, in the Dordogne. Loading the luggage into the car, we bid farewell to the wonderful staff at Hotel de Minimes and settled in for the drive. The town of Sarlat has been around since Roman times, its fortunes waxing and waning...
by Helen Kain | Apr 15, 2015 | Chateaux, Entertablement Abroad, France, Gardens and Flowers
It was our last day in Amboise, and we had time to see one more Chateau. Anxious to see the “rest of the story” between Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici I voted for Chateau de Chaumont. I was dying to see the...
by Helen Kain | Apr 14, 2015 | Chateaux, Entertablement Abroad, France, Gardens and Flowers
Another day, another Chateau… Chateau de Villandry is rightly famous for its magnificent gardens, very much in the French parterre style. I’m more of an English Country perennial garden gal, myself, but these were something to behold. We...
by Helen Kain | Apr 13, 2015 | Chateaux, Entertablement Abroad, France, Gardens and Flowers
The next Chateau on our list was Chambord, probably the most photographed Chateau in the Loire Valley, if not all of France. It is certainly the largest, and is a marvellous example of French Renaissance architecture, built by King Francis I (yes,the self same...
